Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2014
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few ays that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few ays that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From CERIAS Blog
We’re Out of Balance
I’ve had several items cross my social media feeds, along with email, in the last few days that prompt me to write this. It’s gotten a bit longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to say on an important topic. As a first post…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Bayesia Labs Revisited
A technique which I used in the past, but have not recently. I revisited Bayesia Labs, prompted by some problem statements I recently received. They do a good job presenting the method and its applications graphically. Bayesian…
From Schneier on Security
FEEDTROUGH: NSA Exploit of the Day
Today's item from the NSA's Tailored Access Operations (TAO) group implant catalog:
FEEDTROUGH (TS//SI//REL) FEEDTROUGH is a persistence technique for two software implants, DNT's BANANAGLEE and CES's ZESTYLEAK used against…From The Eponymous Pickle
Data Science as a Team Sport
The sexiness of data science. So is it a team sport? Yes, just like all decision science requires multiple players including scientists, data experts, decision process experts and even regulation analysts. Whether any of these…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Reading Minds
In Neurorelay: An overview of the research in the last year that deals with reading and understanding the activity in the mind. Some work I had not heard of, but I expect much more has been done than mentioned here.
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
USPTO Public Forum on the Patent Law Treaties Implementation Act of 2012
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold a public forum on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, from 9 am to noon ET to discuss proposed changes to the agency’s practices to implement the Patent Law Treaties Implementation…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Car Apps Grow
Qualcomm is seeking to power in car Apps for entertainment. App stores and delivery by context is growing. Who will own the dashboard?
From The Eponymous Pickle
On Google Ventures
Another look at Google Ventures. " ... As it searches for industries to disrupt, Google Ventures is even willing to look at its own. Earlier this year it led a $28 million financing round into AngelList, often described as a…
From Computational Complexity
Tell me more about Alice and Bob
A while back my parents were in town on a weekend when I was scheduled to give a talk to HS students who had done well on the Maryland math competition. Logistics dictated that my parents goto the talk. (They were both English…
From U.S. Public Policy Committee of the ACM
USPTO Invites Public Comments on Prior Art Resources for Software Patents
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) invites public comments on prior art resources for software patents as a follow-up to last month’s Software Partnership Meeting. The deadline for comments is March 14, 2014. The USPTO…
From My Biased Coin
Boston Magazine Piece on Aaron Swartz
If you haven't seen it, there's a well-written piece on Bob Swartz, father of Aaron Swartz, in Boston Magazine, covering MIT's reaction to Aaron Swartz's case.
From BLOG@CACM
Deferred Maintenance on the Future
Over-worked and sleep-deprived drivers are steering many of our vehicles of discovery on balding tires across potholed roads. Stripping away the metaphor, we are struggling to sustain appropriate investments in basic research…
From Schneier on Security
I've Joined Co3 Systems
For decades, I've said that good security is a combination of protection, detection, and response. In 1999, when I formed Counterpane Internet Security, I focused the company on what was then the nascent area of detection. …
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Interesting Links 6 January 2014
Back to school for me today after a two week Christmas break. I got some rest mentally and physically and I’m ready to go. It’s going to be a great year I just know it. And to start it off here are some interesting links to share…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Dual Axes in Visualization
From Junkcharts: The dual axes argument in data visualization. An interesting argument. I always believe in multiple exceptions to any rule. Something very similar came up in a recent design choice. In the comments note the…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Amazon Online Wholesale Store
From Engadget: An online Amazon pantry for wholesale. See also the comments. " ... While Amazon has no shortage of rivals, it's now reportedly gearing up to take on big players in the warehouse store business, like Costco.…
From Wild WebMink
Bitcoin Commodity Exchange
Turns out you can buy and trade Bitcoin mining capacity as well as Bitcoin. As I’m gradually learning more about the Bitcoin world, I’m finding a rapidly maturing technology space. I just stumbled across a commodity exchange,…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Kroger Believes in Long term Thinking
Kroger thinking:" .... Kroger's Customer 1st Strategy and a focus on long-term goals were key in turning the company around in the late 1990s, CEO David Dillon says. "If you have short-term thinking, it's hard to have long-term…
From My Biased Coin
The PhD - Tenure - Jobs Argument, Already Started for 2014
'Tis the season when graduate applications are being decided as well as the job interview process starting again, and just in time for the new year, your regularly scheduled inflammatory article entitled, "Can't Get Tenure? Then…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Visualization Errors and Design
Some common errors in visualization. Good to think about, but I am not sure these are the most important errors you could make. But the final section is right: It is all about good design, and by first focusing that design…
From The Eponymous Pickle
High Expectations for Health Big Data
As expected, rich expectations, but also many constraints that are still untested. And lack of understanding of the possibilities." ... Survey results released ... from the Society of Actuaries (SOA) find that healthcare executives…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Roots of Visual Mapping and Analytical Method
Brought to my attention, a set of interesting historical examples of visual mapping. It's a very old idea that is still useful to describe a complex system before attempting to improve it with analytics. At the right a clip…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Shopkick to be Re-examined
Went back to their site, They have a nice video playing now that shows how it works. We looked at them early on. They say: " .... Over 6 million people love shopkick, making it the most-used shopping app and fourth in overall…